Sawtooth National Forest Supervisor Jake Strohmeyer in the Monday letter granted the latest project a categorical exclusion. Such exclusions can be granted by the agency when development occurs at the site of a pre-existing permit. Receiving the exclusion means the resort is not required to produce an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement.

Forest service completes environmental analysis

Monday’s decision letter included reviews from experts on the potential effect of the project on plant and wildlife species.

Biologists determined that the project may “impact” individuals within a few species, such as the spotted bat, Townsend’s big-eared bat and monarch butterfly—or may impact the habitats of those species. But the majority of studied species were either not likely to see any adverse effect or would not be affected, they said.

In instances where members of a particular species could be impacted, biologists wrote that there was a chance the project could cause small changes to habitat or that helicopter use could disturb the animals.

In all of those cases, biologists judged that the possible effects of the project on individuals would not likely contribute, or would not contribute at all, to loss of viability of the species’ population.

The Forest Service determined in its report that whitebark pine, a threatened species, was in “no jeopardy,” meaning the project is unlikely to jeopardize the species’ continued existence or “adversely modify critical habitat.”

“However, the determination for 26 individuals is LAA,” the agency wrote, an acronym meaning the project “may affect,” or is “likely to adversely affect,” those individual trees.

In a statement to the Express, Forest Service Public Affairs Officer Jessica Schick wrote that "potential exists for contractors to remove affected trees."

"However, as a condition of the decision, the contractors are required to minimize impacts to the Whitebark Pine trees," she continued.

Schick wrote that those requirements include the following: training contractors to identify five-needle pine species so they can mark them for retention; using directional felling of trees to minimize the disturbance of logging operations in sensitive areas; and staging in previously disturbed areas to avoid unintentional damage or removal of additional vegetation.

In a previous statement to the Express before the Forest Service’s environmental analysis, the resort said it had encountered whitebark pine in previous projects and works closely with the Ketchum Ranger District to minimize disruptions to the species’ ecosystems.

“We actively engage with the USFS and various stakeholders, including wildlife biologists, botanists, and soil specialists, to conduct thorough impact assessments and identify effective strategies for the conservation of this sensitive species,” the resort wrote.

Strohmeyer’s letter contained a detailed series of requirements and recommended strategies for minimizing environmental damage during construction.

“I find that there are no extraordinary circumstances that would warrant further analysis and documentation in an [environmental assessment] or [environmental impact statement],” Strohmeyer wrote.

Schick told the Express that impacts of a project can be positive or negative. 

"For instance, while removal of vegetation could be considered negative on its face, the removal of the species may result in more light and nutrient availability for neighboring vegetation," Schick wrote.

New lifts to boost efficiency, replace aging predecessors

Proposed replacements of the Seattle Ridge and Christmas lifts, positioned on the other side of Bald Mountain from the Warm Springs side, are poised to streamline two of the busiest points on the mountain and replace decades-old infrastructure, according to a project description released in August 2023 by the Forest Service.

The agency accepted public comment on the plan when the description, called a scoping letter, was released, the Express previously reported.

The resort plans to replace the Christmas lift with a hybrid chairlift and gondola, called a “chondola,” and the four-person Seattle Ridge lift with a six-person chairlift, increasing passenger capacity by 600 people per hour for both rides.

Replacement of the Seattle Ridge lift will require the clearing of up to 50 feet of trees on both sides of the lift path to make room for the larger chairs and grading of roughly 9 acres for the installation of top and bottom terminals and improvements to a nearby ski patrol building.

The resort plans to upgrade the ski patrol building at the top of Seattle Ridge by either expanding the building or installing a second story on top of the existing structure, according to the Forest Service project description.

Replacement of the Christmas lift will include roughly 60 feet of tree clearing on either side of the lift path and roughly 2.8 acres of grading for the top and bottom lift terminals.

Construction on the new Seattle Ridge lift is scheduled to begin this summer, the resort said. The other two projects will follow in the future.

"We're excited to get to work on the Seattle Ridge Chairlift replacement this summer as part of our ongoing commitment to invest in the mountain experience for our guests," said Sun Valley Resort Vice President and General Manager Pete Sonntag in a statement to the Express.

"This mountain is already known for its short to non-existent lift lines and this improvement will provide even more efficient lift line access as a result of the expanded terminal zone and increased capacity," he continued. "Sun Valley is also pleased to have approval on the Christmas Chairlift and Seattle Ridge Patrol Building projects and we look forward to commencing that work in the near future."